Woolly bears everywhere today! You know, though, I have never seen them anywhere but on the ground, usually inching their way toward the nearest road. It's like they've got a death wish. I've actually turned my fair share of woolly bear around in the hopes of saving it from getting squished, but the fool things always seem to turn back around and head for the road. Anyway, I did a double-take when I saw this one and immediately thought it was trying to camouflage itself, haha. The further I walked, the more woolly bears I saw like this.

Hmmm. you know what they say about the woolly bear and its bands - I wonder if there's some folklore about them breaking pattern and perching well above ground. Maybe they're all getting ready to turn themselves into moths. Interesting.

The problem with the "plan" I have on weekends to do most of my chores and projects on Saturdays and finish things up on Sundays is that I reallllllly cannot find motivation to do anything on Sundays. Whoops.

Watching Miami Vice right now. While I understand why it was groundbreaking, the acting is dreadful. Some of the worst I have ever seen. Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas got pretty lucky being cast, considering their thespian skills are cringeworthy at the kindest. Also, if MV is responsible for current music being used for cues I'm not sure I appreciate the influence. LOL. I've reached an age where I get annoyed when the music is so loud I can't hear dialogue.

Oh, this pooch. He is another one of those instant loves - he is calm when anyone comes in, just looks at everyone with that soulful gaze and wags his tail. He's a dream to walk, always checks in with you, and loves to run and play. I love him. Plus, he's drop dead gorgeous. It's always a treat when I get to take him out, and here's hoping he goes fast.

I finally captured this dragonfly. It's been zooming around the building for a while and either wouldn't stop, or stopped when all I had on me was my cell phone. Not the best backdrop, but beggars can't be choosers.

Also, today I realized how grateful I should be that I have a moderate level of smarts. I have no idea how the person I saw managed to make it to adulthood. No diagnosed developmental delays, just old fashioned "duh, what?"

Yesterday, someone brought in a three month old pit bull puppy. He is the cutest baby, I'm not even exaggerating. White with a black patch over one eye and a nearly perfectly circular black spot on his rump. The reason? "He pees."

Yes, folks, someone brought a puppy in for peeing. Grrrr.

And today a sweet 9 month old pup got returned because she was too high energy for the people. It's so easy to fall in love with a dog at the shelter but get in way over your head in reality. I totally know how that goes. "My" little pup has moved out of my neighborhood, so I don't get to see her anymore. :(

What a day. It's boot weather, suddenly, so I was rooting around in my shoe closet (don't judge me, it's not like that, really). I've intended to get an actual boot rack for my boots, but haven't ever got motivated enough and so have them kind of stuffed into a large plastic storage bin, without the lid on. As I was looking for the left boot for one pair this morning, I started sniffing. I bought these little shoe freshener balls that I shift around from shoe to shoe. I don't like the smell of those things, actually, but this wasn't that. It was ...

Cat. Pee.

Apparently someone liked my shoe closet as a hideyhole when terrified and peed. All over my boot collection. This was probably months ago, so the smell is good and set in. *bangs head on wall* I suspect Abe, as when Pickle was peeing outside of the box a while back it was a direct commentary on the lack of suitable box options for her and no one else is a peer.

Then I came home to a giant puddle of puke under my kitchen table. THAT was Pickle, who hates getting brushed like whoa, then constantly barfs up hairballs. *bangs head on wall*

We had a tornado warning today. People were in a tizzy for a short while, including my boss who gathered us all together in the midst of it ... in the corner-situated conference room, which has two exteriors walls made entirely of windows. LOL. Me: I don't think this is where we should actually BE...

But nothing came of it. It's not common for tornadoes, though last year a small town down the coast got hit - they come up off of the ocean.

About four and a half years ago, maybe longer (holy crow, where does time go?) I tackled homemade Jaffa Cakes but substituted orange curd in place of the jelly. They were delicious and I think they won the monthly contest on the now-defunct Bake,Bake,Bake community. This time, I went for the jelly but despite the apparent health qualities of gelatin, it just grosses me out to think on. So, I used agar powder.

Innit pretty? Texturally, a bit grainier than gelatin, but it tastes fine. I do wonder if the orange will come through the chocolate. I had a heck of a time getting these covered. The jelly disks didn't want to stick to the cakes and the chocolate didn't want to stick to the jelly disks. They're a little sloppy, too, and I am 99% sure I over folded the flour into the sponge, but these are just for work folks. They'll get eaten. Hah.

Walked to the tile store today to scope out shower tiles. I'm still not convinced I can do this project by myself and I've about reached my limit with the white small-tiled bathroom floor as well. White floor + long dark hair = a big, ugly pain! I can't go in the bathroom without shedding at least one hair. The shower is a must, the floor is a want. I will send photos to see if I can get an estimate, then maybe that will motivate me to be able to do it myself. Sticker shock is a great motivator for me.

Can we please stop with pumpkin spice? Oh my gosh, there is no need for pumpkin spice cheerios. Or yogurt. Or licorice. Or waffles. Or wheat thins. Or, or, or...

Drove to "the city" for a dental appointment today. Shopped a bit at Target (meh), DSW (meh) and Trader Joe's. The latter used to be a fun stop when I first moved to the boonies. It was a chance to stock up on treats - I've never really liked TJ's for practical things: their produce is overpackaged and anemic-looking, I'm not a big fancy cheese or meat person, etc. Today, TJ's was also kinda meh. I must have rednecked the city girl all the way out of me.

No bifocals. I probably could have ordered new contact lenses, but when I found out they increased by $30 per eye, I decided I can make my current pair work for a bit longer. Eye doc said I'm likely to see a bit of fluctuating from here on out, but no bifocals yet. Whew!

You know, Hank has been with me almost a year and to be honest - I had hoped that the others would have accepted him. I was looking at photos for the last three months of last year, when Pickle was so sick. Before she just couldn't shake the yuck, she and Hank played well. After? She changed. I halfway wonder if she associates him with her illness. You know, like when you were a kid and you vomited soon after eating, say, peanut butter and for a long, long time after you cannot think of peanut butter without getting queasy. I think I am going to try to cordon off three of the downstairs rooms and kind of keep them separated for a bit, reintroduce Hank again. Hmmmm.

What a day. Was on the go for most of it, busy, busy. I don't mind busy, but now I'm super tired.

I ordered new pillow covers for my throw pillows on Saturday. They arrived today and the pillows look so much better. Funny how they seem less flat and lumpy since I stuffed them into new attire. I got four in a pack, thinking I could use some salvaged foam from a bed topper that got peed on. I don't know why I thought that would work. I think I'll have to get some batting to get the foam into better shape.

Going to the eye doc tomorrow. Sigh. I fear it will not be news I want to hear...but I suppose it's better to hear it, deal with it and adjust to old eyes. Grrr.

These things are no joke. They've decided our office is the perfect spot. *shudder*

I stayed 45 minutes late at work today. I really try not to do it, but I scheduled an appt 45 minutes prior to my leave time and so naturally the person had every single possible question under the sun to ask. The worst part is: I don't think they are going to qualify for any help. I feel bad making people jump through hoops and then say no. But I can't say no unless they jump through hoops.